Confusing Love With Lust
by Mi ChIbO
Summary: [COMPLETE] When Yumi seems to love someone else, Ulrich gets depressed and starts taking refuge in the forest. He's getting burns and scratches and nobody knows why. He's not hurting himself! U&Y, J&A, some Y&OC. Ends as U&Y, though!
1. What's With Him?

**Eppy Deppy Day! Here's another story! Number 13! Wow… next I'm going to put up Royal Pain Kimi! Um… yeah, I don't own Code Lyoko… but I own my OC, Richard!**

**Note: Richard came to Kadic and Yumi started dating him… Kapeesh? Now, u ppls who are UlrichYumi fans, I hear ya all the way… this is and entire U&Y fic, even though it may not seem like it.**

Ulrich, Odd, Jeremy and Aelita were all waiting by their bench for Yumi's bus to come. She had gone with her boyfriend, Richard, to meet his grandparents. The big blue vehicle pulled up in front of the school and Richard and Yumi came out of the door, laughing and holding hands. Yumi pointed at the gang, said something to Richard, and pulled him over to them.

"Hi guys!" she said, out of breath, "Guess what!"

"Hi Yumi!" the gang said in unison, all except Ulrich. Jeremy shot him a look. His mouth barely turned up before going back in a frown. He pulled a towel out of his back pocket and wiped his grease-covered hands on it.

Yumi smiled up at Richard, "We're getting married!" She stuck out her hand to reveal a gold band with a tiny diamond on it. Ulrich froze, still in the act of wiping his hands. The rest of the gang looked shocked, but soon their open mouths were replaced with grins.

"Congrats Yumi! You too Richard! When is the wedding going to be? How did this happen?" the gang flooded them with questions. The couple answered them as best they could. Then Odd noticed that someone wasn't with them.

"Hey," he said, "Where'd Ulrich go?"

Aelita looked over her shoulder, "I don't know. He's been disappearing a lot lately, hasn't he?"

Jeremy nodded, "Yeah, and I've never seen him with burn marks on his arms before now."

"Burn marks?" asked Richard, "From where?"

"Well, we don't know," said Aelita, "And Odd says he comes to the dorms late at night right at the exact time Jim starts to patrol the halls. For some reason he has these calluses on his fingers and sometimes he's even bleeding. And when we try to follow him, he always catches us."

"Yeah! I caught him yesterday with a package in our room. He shoved it away as soon as I came in. When he fell asleep I took it out and I found electronic parts in a small box and in another box, there were medicines, bandages, and other doctor items… even a stethoscope! I asked him about it this morning and he told me it was a figure of my imagination. He showed me where I saw him hide it and there was nothing there! I was so confused."

Jeremy nodded, "Yeah, and a couple weeks ago, I found him in town ordering metal and wood. But we never saw it get delivered! And it was a _lot_ of wood and metal."

Yumi raised her eyebrows. She saw something sparkle on the ground. Bending down, she picked it up. It was a piece of steel, and a very small one at that, "What's this?"

"I've been finding stuff like that around my room," said Odd, "I don't know where they've been coming from though." Yumi pocketed the piece of metal.

"I'm going to go try and find him," she kissed Richard and set out in the direction of the forest.

- : Ulrich's POV : -

I ran through the forest, not caring where my feet carried me. I was fine with anywhere, as long as it was far away from Yumi and Richard. Hot tears ran down my cheeks, leaving lines on my face. My pace slowed to a walk as I got well into the forest. I ran my hand along random trees until I felt a dent. I looked up to see _Richard loves Yumi 4ever._ I punched the name 'Richard' and continued on. I ran into something and I looked up yet again to see my home away from home. I had built the place myself. I was built right around my favorite tree that I had so often come to in my freshman year to clear my head. The building was made up of entirely metal and was two stories high. None of the gang knew about it… yet. They would probably find out someday. I grasped the handle of the heavy door and lugged it open. I clapped twice and the lights came on. I closed the door behind me and walked to the wall. There were some of my tools that I was using to build my projects. Not school projects, just some things that someday might actually be worth something. I grabbed some of the tools and made my way to the center of the room. There stood a workbench by the tree that grew up from the center of the structure. I plopped myself down and set to work on Iggs, a longtime friend, and also one of the projects. I picked up a screwdriver and carefully placed a computer chip in a slot and screwed on a lid. The chip was one of about 15 that had to be placed correctly for Iggs to work. I kept working and nearly dropped Iggs when I heard a knock at the door.

- : Normal POV : -

Yumi was knocking on the door to the building. She had followed Ulrich's footprints and found the building. Ulrich quickly sped throughout the structure, putting this away and hiding Iggs and all his other gadgets. When he was done putting everything away, he went to the door and opened it a few inches, clapping his hands in the process, which turned off the lights. He saw Yumi and he opened the door the entire way, leaning against the frame. He crossed his arms and frowned.

"What are _you_ doing here? Shouldn't you be with your fiancé planning your wedding?" he scowled.

Yumi looked behind him in wonder, "Wow… what is this place?"

"Nothing. Now answer me. What are you doing here?" he said calmly.

She turned her gaze to him, "That's a real nice welcome for someone you haven't seen for-"

"A week," he cut her off, "So what? I've been left longer. Try my entire life. And here's another question, how did you find me?"

She pointed behind her at the tracks. He glared. He shut the door and stormed through the forest. She quickly walked behind him.

"Ulrich what has you so riled up? And what's with that building back there?" she asked.

"What building?" he asked.

"The one that you just-" she turned around and gasped. The building was gone.

Ulrich raised an eyebrow, "That's what I thought. There is no building."

"But I thought I saw…" she cocked her head and looked over at him in confusion.

"Yeah… you _thought_ you saw a building. I guess you didn't," he turned his head so she could see only one side of his face. But he stayed with his back turned to her. "Chal." He balled up his fists and walked quickly toward the school. She stopped him with a hand on his arm. He flinched.

Through gritted teeth, he said, "_Let. Go._" She ignored him and turned his arm over. He had the burns Jeremy had told her about. He pulled his arm out of her grasp, wincing in the process.

"Why are you here?" he asked.

"Because I haven't seen my friends in a week and you ran away when I told you Richard and I were getting married."

"I'm happy for you. You're going to get to keep on enjoying the life I never had. Everybody can live a perfect life without me," he said. Then, he whispered, mostly to himself, "Even my parents."

Yumi gasped. He turned to her, "Just go. You shouldn't be here. Everyone will be wondering where the bride-to-be is."

"But I told them I was going to look for you…"

"Well you found me? Happy? Go get on with your life! Just… just… go. Please. Pretty soon everyone will come to try and find us. I don't really feel like having questions thrown at me like every other time when they find me in the forest," he jumped onto a branch and started to climb the tree in front of him. He reached to very top and stood up without holding on to anything.

"Ulrich! Come down! You're going to hurt yourself!" she yelled.

He ignored her and jumped from tree to tree until he reached his longtime-favorite tree. He slid down the trunk as Yumi hurried over to him to see if he was all right. A green light surrounded him.

"FORCE FIELD!" he yelled. A large green bubble appeared around him and the tree. She froze, open-mouthed at what he was doing. He smirked at her amazement. He made the little safe sign that umpires at a baseball game do and the bubble ceased.

"What? You thought Odd was the only one with powers useful outside Lyoko?" he came up to her, "Tell no one what you just saw."

"But-" she started.

He cut her off again, "No one. I mean it. I don't want any looks being thrown at me."

"All- all right… but why not?" she asked. She looked into his eyes. A couple years ago, they held laughter and joy and there was always a smile on his face when she was around. Since she had started dating Richard, that smile had been replaced with a frown and his eyes were filled with pain and they looked lost. Now, his eyes were empty. No emotions were hidden behind them. They were empty. As if his soul had left him. The green orbs that used to have so much fire and excitement in them now stared coolly back at her with as much emptiness as a bottomless pit.

He tore his gaze away from her, "They just won't understand… no one ever did… and no one ever will either…"

He pushed through the undergrowth that hid the forest floor. She looked up at the tree and quietly followed him back to school. When she stumbled out of the side of the forest, he was nowhere in sight.

**I know that this is kinda weird… but who cares? Well… some ppl might… oh well... do you like it? Tell me if I should continue…. Flame me for all I care! You know… I've never gotten a flame… except for Lost in Her Voice when someone said that it was getting too much like High School Musical… but I said it was going to be like High School Musical didn't I? Well then that should clear up all their questions…. READ AND REVIEW! OH YA PPLS!**

**Here's a question: I want to know which story seems more appealing to you in order. (1 being the most appealing and being the least)**

**Lyoko… Group Two?**

**Always and Forever Alone**

**Royal Pain**

**One Month Long**

**Stuck In the Middle (originally called Ten years Later)**

**Eventually the Truth Will Come**

**Into The Goal**

**Where Are We?**

**Sugar & Spice, Everything's… Weird**

**Lost In her Voice**

**Not Just Your Average Rich Kid**

**Just the most appealing titles… then, whichever comes in first, I'll update or start… and on and On until I reach the end of the list, then I'll start over again… (I'll be updating while I put new stories on)… and don't forget to give me ideas ppl! I may use some of them! Wow… this was a long author's note… oh well… LATER PPLS!**

**-Mi ChIbO-**


	2. You Can't Understand My Pain

**Okay, to clear up a few things about the last chappie:**

**Richard started dating Yumi right after the team shut down XANA.**

**A year ago (two years after Yumi started dating R), yumi and Richard were engaged.**

**Then they went to meet Richard's parents and were gone for a week.**

**During the week, Ulrich built the 'home away from home' around the tree and started building gadgets in his spare time.**

**Ulrich's grades started rising, so they were almost level with Aelita's.**

**None of the gang (except for Yumi now…) knows about the house. And absolutely NO ONE knows about the gadgets. Except for the force field…**

**Yumi THINKS she is in love with Richard… but bear with me, this is an entire UxY story… but there may be a little YumixRichard… but I _HATE_ writing it out!**

**That should help a little. And this chappie will explain about Ulrich saying "The life I never had." So here you go:**

Yumi said goodbye to Richard with a kiss at the door of her house. When the door was shut, she ran upstairs to her room and turned on her computer. She then typed in: Ulrich, Jack, and Marlene Stern (A/N: these are the names for Ulrich's parents that I made up… since I don't know heir real names…). The results came up:

_Mother Dies in Unexpected Childbirth_

_Dad Commits Suicide Because of Dead Wife_

_Parents Both Die on the Day their son was born_

_Aunt Adopts Boy of Dead Parents_

_Law & Order: Child Abuse of a 2-year-old_

_Riverdale Cemetery's Occupants_

_The Sad Tale of a Boy With No Relatives_

_Little Ulrich, The Government's Pride_

_A Restaurant's Youngest Worker_

_Abusive Aunt Put In Jail_

_The Heart Of Little Boy Is Worth More Than a Sack Of Gold_

_A Promise Not To Cry_

_Little Boy Understands Life Better Than A 60-year-old_

_The Truth Behind France's Bravest Boy_

_Government Takes Custody Of Little Boy_

_Little Ulrich Moves In With Government Officials_

_A Sad Story Gets Sadder_

_Fire Breaks Out In Government Officials' Homes_

_Ulrich Never Even Got A "Goodbye"_

_Alone Again_

_The Capturer of Millions Of Hearts Has Been Sent To Kadic_

_Gates Built Around Kadic For Protection Of Boy_

_Spouse of Abusive Aunt Is Wanted_

_Jeremiah Stern Out To Get Ulrich For Imprisoning Wife_

_Jeremiah Gathers Followers_

_Target Of The Black Killer's Clan_

Yumi's eyes got wide. And this was just the first page. Just reading the titles, she could understand why Ulrich was so solemn and quiet. He had been through a lot. Now she understood what he meant by "The life I never had." She Wrote down all the websites and kept scrolling through pages until she had written down all the sites.

By the end she had tears in her eyes. Ulrich's parents had died at his birth. That was so sad! And she had always imagined the government as big and cruel. But they were so unlike what she thought… they took Ulrich in. They died for him in a fire at each of their houses. Her cell phone rang, startling her. She picked it up and saw that it was Ulrich.

"Hello?"

"Stop searching for me."

She nearly fell of her chair in surprise, "W-what?"

"You heard me, Yumi. Stop trying to understand me. Stop trying to find out everything you can about my life."

"Ulrich why didn't you tell any of us?"

"Ha! Do you think I _want_ to be pitied? As you must have seen, I have a lot to be sad about. And you guys would look after me like I was a baby. I'm NOT! Okay? You would probably make sure that I wouldn't go anywhere without one of you there. I'm perfectly able to take care of myself. And the government thought that too. They gave me permission to kill my Uncle if he came near me. You may think you understand, but you have no idea how hard it is for me to live a normal life. No idea…"

"Ulrich…" Yumi's voice broke.

"STOP CRYING! GOSH DARN IT! Did you not _hear_ me? I don't want to be pitied!"

Yumi was so shocked by his sudden outburst that the waterworks stopped.

"THANK you! Now, stop searching, because you won't be able to find it all on the Internet. Only about a third of my life is on there."

"A-a third?" she whispered faintly. She didn't get an answer, only the dial tone. She stared at the phone, '_How did he know?'_ she asked herself.

**How _did_ he know? Oh! I know how he knew!**

**Ulrich: I know that you know how I knew.**

**Yumi: Let me know so I'll know how you knew that MC knew that you knew!**

**Jeremy: Hey! I know how he knew that MC knew that he knew!**

**Aelita: How did you know that he knew that she knew that he knew?**

**Odd: who knows?**

**J, A, y, U, & MC: slaps foreheads.**

**ME: I'll tell you later.**

**Okay, now that that's cleared up, READ AND REVIEW! I'm bored… AGAIN! Got 2 Go write MORE! MUA HAHAHAHA! Yawn still bored. READ AND REVIEW! Later persons.**


	3. One Grudge, One life

**Well, Joy227 and everybody else, here it is, the next chappie of CLWL! Hope you like it ppls! I don't own Code Lyoko. Duh. If I did then Yumi and Ulrich would have kissed, as would have Jeremy and Aelita (naw dip). Odd would have found someone (MAYBE Sissy) and there would be a horrible incident involving William, a fire extinguisher (for the teacher), and a burned pair of pants. Maybe even a match or two. Heehee… anywho, here's the next chappie!**

Yumi's cell phone rang, startling her. She shook her head and picked it up from her dresser. Answering it, she placed the cool plastic to her ear.

"Hello?"

"Yumi? It's Aelita. Listen, Jeremy needs us all to meet at the sewer entrance. Something to do with XANA."

"But I thought we shut him down last year!" Yumi hissed, careful mot to wake her parents, both of whom were very light sleepers.

"That's what I thought too, but… uh-oh… I've gotta go. Be at the sewer entrance in five minutes!" There was a click and the line went dead. Yumi sighed.

"Just my luck." She got up from in front of her computer and walked over to the window. As she opened it, the cold wind nipped at her arms. Shrugging it off, she climbed down the side of her house and darted away into the forest. Getting there two minutes early, she stopped to catch her breath. There was a snapping noise behind her and she whipped around.

"Nice. Jumping at every little noise," Ulrich said scornfully. His eyes glinted darkly in the moonlight.

She blew out a sigh of relief, "It's you. Thank god, I though my parents had followed me."

He just shrugged and leaned against a tree.

"Ulrich?"

"What?" he asked sharply.

She looked at him, "What's the matter with you? Why must every time me or anyone else ask you about your life you get all secretive?"

"If this is about my life or the way I am then don't even bother asking," Ulrich said.

"Why? Ulrich, we care about you! What's so wrong with your life that you have to keep it a secret from us?"

"EVERYTHING, Yumi! EVERYTHING'S wrong! I've been the cause of so many deaths! Do you know how it feels to have that hanging over your head everywhere you go?"

'I-"

"See? How could you understand? You still have both your parents, and also all your grandparents! Your uncle's not after you plotting your death is he?"

"No, but-"

"No! That's the answer most people in the ENTIRE school would have as well!"

"WELL AT LEAST I'M NOT PITYING MYSELF!" she shouted.

He laughed. Quite calmly, he retorted, "Oh, so that's what I'm doing? Pitying myself? Well, it may seem that way to you, but you have _no_ idea how I view myself. As the cause of suicide maybe?"

"What?"

"You heard me. And besides, you're the one that read it on the web."

"Ulrich will you stop being to secretive!"

"ABOUT WHAT?"

"YOU KNOW EXACTLY WHAT, STERN!"

"WHY ARE YOU TRYING TO FIND OUT ABOUT ME ALL OF A SUDDEN, HUH?"

"DON'T YOU DARE TURN THE TABLES ON ME!"

"I'M NOT!"

"YES YOU ARE! ANSWER MY QUESTION!"

"YOU NEVER ASKED ONE!"

This was the way Aelita, Odd, and Jeremy found them.

"Um…. Are we interrupting something?" asked Aelita.

"No, Aei. Just a friendly chat," said Ulrich smoothly.

"Just the opposite is what it looked like," Odd chuckled. But he immediately stopped when Yumi sent him a death glare. Ulrich just bent down and lifted off the cover to the sewer with one hand. They all stared in amazement.

"_What_?" he threw at them. Jeremy just shook his head and climbed down the ladder. Aelita followed along with Odd,

Yumi continued to stare at him.

"Go on, go down then," he said gruffly. She closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them again and lowered herself down. Once she was all the way down, Ulrich threw the lid in the air, jumped to the concrete floor, landing inches from the water and stood as they heard a clunk and a hiss of the top falling exactly in place. Again, the others looked at him strangely. When they looked away, his momentary smile faded to a sad frown. They all took their skateboards and raced off. Yumi turned to talk Ulrich, only to find that he wasn't at his usual place beside her. Blinking, she looked back. Ulrich had hardly even gone 10 feet. He was just standing on his board, staying at the same pace, and staring into the murky waters. She sighed, let him sulk. Eventually they all made it to the factory, Ulrich surpassing them on the way. When he had whizzed past them, Yumi thought she saw something shinning in his eyes. Sadness? Pain? But he only glanced briefly at her before taking off when she opened her mouth to speak. They all ended up in the super computer room. Ulrich was leaning against a wall as they climbed out of the elevator.

Jeremy sat in the chair in front of the computer and pressed a button. The screens burst into a colorful array, but they were too confused to find delight in this. None of them were happy to see Jeremy frown and type in a few codes, "I don't believe it. How did this happen?"

"What is it Jeremy?" Odd asked.

"It's true. What my computer said at the school was true. He's back. XANA's back."

They all lapsed into horrified silence.

"Well, I guess there's nothing we can do until he attacks, because… well, it's complicated. He messed with the scanners but it says here that when a tower is activated, they'll fix themselves. So I guess… we'll just have to wait," he sadly turned off the computer. Aelita put a hand on his shoulder.

"Jeremy, we beat him once! We can do it again!" she smiled.

"But the thing is, Aelita, we never really _did_ beat him."

"Jeremy, stop it! You're starting to sound like a depressed Ulrich!" Odd joked. They all laughed and the brunette lifted his head at this. His eyes were steadily filling with tears that he didn't allow to fall. He pushed off the wall and ran over to the ladder in the corner of the room.

"Ulrich we were kidding!" Yumi and the others called to him.

Not saying anything, he nimbly climbed up the rungs, leaving them. When he reached the top, he sprinted over the bridge and into the woods. The rest of the gang glanced at each other, and then quickly hurried after him. He crashed through the trees and blindly ran to the structure Yumi had discovered him at. He ran in and climbed the tree to the second floor. Racing forward, he darted to a table and grabbed a vial. Slowly, he froze as he saw at least twenty pairs of eyes staring at him from everywhere. One man stepped forward from the shadows.

"Hello _nephew_," he smirked evilly, then… "Bind him." Two people jumped out and grabbed Ulrich, tying him. The vial dropped to the floor and crashed, its contents spilling everywhere. "It's been so long," the man said nostalgically. He then came up and slapped Ulrich across the face, "SINCE YOU HAD MY WIFE ARRESTED!" He glared at Ulrich. "Gag him. And take him outside as well. Gather his things. It's time for a little bonfire." He whipped around and nodded at the men behind him. One of the men holding Ulrich tied a rag around Ulrich's head gagging him so that he couldn't speak. They then dragged him outside and threw him to the ground. All of the men were going in and out of the house, piling up papers, tools, some of Ulrich's inventions, anything they found. Which was everything. The house had soon emptied the building and had all filed out. Ulrich's uncle was the last to come out. He held a leash in his hand. He laughed and tugged on it.

-With Yumi, Jeremy, Odd, and Aelita-

Yumi, Jeremy, Odd, and Aelita darted through the trees, calling Ulrich's name.

"Ulrich!" Yumi yelled, "Ulr-" she stopped dead in her tracks. She stood in shock. The others must have noticed the fire and rushed over, because she soon found them at her side. Suddenly, Odd ducked down, pulling the others with him. He put a finger to his lips and pointed at three people. Yumi gasped and Odd quickly clapped a hand to her mouth. Ulrich was bound and gagged in the center of two men who held him tightly by the upper arm. Yumi pushed Odd's hand away as she recognized the area.

"Guys… I've been here before! This' Ulrich's little place. He built it himself I think. But what are those people doing with his things?" she hissed.

"Moreover, what are they doing with _him_?" Aelita whispered fearfully. Jeremy quieted her with a 'Shh' and pointed at the doorway to the building. Ulrich stared at it in fear, so they also watched the door. A man came out with a leash. Laughing horribly, he dragged something out. It was—

"FRITZI!" Ulrich yelled. He had bitten through his gag. A large mountain lion was on the leash. Its mouth was in a muzzle.

Yumi clutched her face.

"Burn his things!" the man who had the leash shouted. Ulrich's eyes were filled with rage and hurt as he saw each of the men start throwing his possessions into the building fire. The man stared hungrily into the conflagration with satisfaction. Plastic melted and the computer chips burned into nothing. He stared into the fire, watching all his hard work go up in flames. He looked up at the man, his jaw set, as the bonfire died down and all that remained was scarred wood and bits of hot plastic. Ashes littered the forest floor.

"Now my dear little nephew," the man snickered coolly. The gang silently gasped at the word. "Before you _die_ I want you to see your precious little pet be killed." They watched as he took a gun from its holster and pointed it at the great cat. The shot he fired echoed through the forest, startling many birds. Ulrich's cry reached out not only to their ears, but to their hearts as well.

"NO! FRITZI!" he glared up at his uncle and started speaking rapidly in a language none of them recognized, "Was ist falsch mit Ihnen? Ich habe nicht bedeutet, Ihre Ehefrau in Gefängnis zu werfen, aber sie hat es verdient! Und deswegen macht Sie! **(1)**"

"Is he speaking in-" Aelita started.

"German," Jeremy confirmed for her. Ulrich was still yelling at the man. But strangely enough, the man wasn't fazed by his outbursts.

"Save your breath, m' boy. Trust me you're going to need it," he ran the back of his gnarled hand down Ulrich's cheek. The brunette bit him—hard.

"YOW! Son of a #&!. I wouldn't have done that if I were you, boy. Now I have someone I think you'd want to see before you do anything daft, because if there are any more outbursts, I won't hesitate in killing her," he turned and barked at a man behind him, "You! Go get her!" Ulrich's eyes never left the man's masked face. But he instantly tore them away when he saw the man return, pushing a girl in front of him. His face paled.

"L-L-Lyeah?" The girl looked up.

"Ulrich? Ulrich! Bruder! Ach nein, sie haben gefangen Sie auch! **(2)**" she then turned to Ulrich's supposed uncle and glared, "Sie Übel, gedrehten Ungeheuer! Sie hätten mich töten können und werdest aber NEIN satasfied! Sie müssen gehen und müssen Ulrich auch gefangen nehmen! Warum Sie klein… **(3)**"

"Calm yourself, my dear little Lyeah. We wouldn't want any _accidents_ here, now would we?"

"Sie idiotischer Exzentriker! Sie anekeln mich Sie schändliches Stückungeziefer! **(4)**" the girl- Lyeah- shouted.

Ulrich cried out, "Lyeah Halt es! Sie sind alles, das ich verlassen habe! Ich will Sie Verstorbene ebenso nicht! **(5)**"

"Ist klug, Aufenthalt aus diesem Ulrich, Okay? **(6)**" Lyeah replied, still glaring at Ulrich's uncle. She whipped out her fist and swung around, punching her captor in the face. With a yell, she ran forward and grabbed the hating man by the neck. Calmly, the man took out a gun and held it to Lyeah's forehead.

"LYEAH!" Ulrich bellowed, "NO!"

"Don't move, my sweet. Or you'll die." She slowly removed her hands from his neck and hung her head. "Good girl. Well, I guess there's no need for you anymore!"

"NO!" Ulrich shouted "YOU'RE NOT TAKING AWAY THE LAST MEMORY I HAVE OF THEM!"

"Calm yourself, boy! Now… how to kill you… but I don't want a quick death, oh no. No, I want a long…. _Painful_ death, if you will Raymond," Ulrich's uncle held out his hand and a man stepped out of the crowd and handed him a small bean. "Do you know what this is, girl?" Lyeah shook her head. "It's a castor bean. Eat one and you die, sometimes two if you're an adult. It has a deadly poison inside it. I injected one in you about, oh… three hours ago. It should start affecting you in a few minutes." Lyeah paled. Suddenly, as if on cue, she started coughing. Her breathing deepened and came in short gasps. It was as if they had all gone deaf. Ulrich's cries couldn't be heard. The man's mechanical laughter was silent. All they could hear was the beating of their hearts as Lyeah slowly turned whiter and whiter and crumpled to the ground. She was still breathing, but very hard and fast. The men holding Ulrich let him go and her rushed to Lyeah's side, cradling her in his arms. He silently cried as Lyeah slowly closed her eyes and said her last words to him in German.

"Ich liebe Sie Ulrich. Sie sind der beste Bruder, den ich je für hätte hoffen können. Töten Sie ihn... für mich. **(7)**"

Ulrich nodded and croaked out, "Ich werde, werde ich Lyeah. Für Sie, für Mutti, und für Vater. **(8)**" Lyeah's breathing stopped and her life was ripped from her. Yet she lay with a smile on her otherwise empty face. With a cold fury in his eyes, Ulrich looked up at the man who had taken away the life of the girl that now lay dead in his arms. This time, he spoke normally, "You…"

**Yeah yeah, it's a long chappie and I left of at a not so cliff-like cliffhanger, if you know what I mean. But I got a PM from Joy227 (  ) that encouraged me to finish this chappie so.. here you are, Joy227! I hope you like it. Yeah, it took an unexpected turn but I was listening to 'Perfect' by Simple Plan and I almost (ALMOST) started crying. There were tears in my eyes and everything. But I didn't cry. HA! IN YOUR FACE! Anywho, please review. And ppls, if you haven't already, read this story by Kagome1322 that's called 'Gothic Rainbow.' She has asked me to write the first 2 chappies for the sequel and I'm so happy! I've already started on the first! YAY ME! Heehee… I feel happy. And special too. And I'm also feeling skitsafrenzic. Heh… if that's how you spell it… oh well XP you computer! It has the little red squiggly line under it. Oh well! I don't care! It just means I have multiple personalities! Which I do… I'm the quietest person in my family, I talk a lot and am uh… cough happy at school, and I'm really, REALLY hyper when I'm typing on the computer. Shrugs oh well. REVIEW PLEASE! And if you beg REALLY hard, I may put up the next chappie of either Into the Goal or Lost In Her Voice. But you have to tell me which and then I'll put up the next chappie of the one that gets the most begging! Here are the German translations, match them with their numbers. Kay?**

**What's wrong with you? I didn't mean to throw your wife in prison, but she deserved it! And so do you!**

**Brother! Oh no! They caught you too?**

**You evil, twisted monster! You could have killed me and be satisfied but NO! You have to go and capture Ulrich too! Why you little...**

**You idiotic freak! you disgust me you vile piece of vermin!**

**Lyeah stop it! You're all i have left! I don't want you dead as well!**

**Be smart, stay out of this Ulrich, okay?**

**I love you Ulrich. You're the best brother I could have ever hoped for. Kill him… for me.**

**I will, I will Lyeah. For you. For mother. And for father.**

**Okay… I'm bored… wow… this was a LONG author's note. Heh… see yas!**

**-Mi ChIbO-**

**beep…**


	4. Death and Destruction

**Okay, sorry I took so long… I didn't mean to. I just got caught up in Into The Goal… so here's the next chappie of Confusing Love With Lust! I don't own Code Lyoko or any of the characters, yaddayaddaya… on we go!**

"YOU!" He yelled it this time. There was a flash from Ulrich's eyes and rain started drizzling from the clouded sky above.

"Dear boy, what has come over you?" his Uncle mocked, "Yoooooooou? What kind of response is that when your sister just died!"

All four of them just about fell out of the bush, but kept their balance.

Ulrich slowly walked up to the man as the drizzle turned into a downpour. His hair was plastered to his face as he shouted over the howling wind.

"YOU KILLED BOTH OF THEM! THE ONLY ONES WHO _REALLY _AND _TRULY_ LOVED ME ARE NOW GONE BECAUSE OF YOU, YOU SELFISH, GREEDY, NO-GOOD SLIMEBALL!"

"Oh, it's so sad… if you're going to do anything about it boy, do it now!" the man shouted.

Ulrich reached down and took off his right shoe. Hitting the heel of it, he caught the handle of a dagger as it fell out. Throwing his shoe back down, he slipped it on.

"Auf Wiedersehen!" Ulrich yelled. Then he threw the dagger at his uncle. It hit the man dead-on in the heart and pinned him to the tree behind him.

Ulrich let out a battle cry and punched the nearest guard in the stomach, knocking him out. Running up to the next two, he jabbed his thumb into the neck of one, ducked to dodge a blow from the other, clasped his hands together, jumped, and brought his fists down in the guard's head. The others advanced on him, but he punched one in the jaw, slid through the legs of another, and kicked one square in the back, causing him to fall into another man, which knocked both of them out as their heads collided. He finished off the others and stood, breathing hard, beside his favorite tree amidst the wreckage and unconscious bodies. He wiped his nose on the sleeve of his jacket and brought it away to see a streak of blood spreading on it. He fell back onto the tree and slid all the way to the ruined ground. He crossed his arms, brought his knees to his chest, placed his elbows on his kneecaps, and buried his head in his arms. Yumi stood up only to be yanked down by Jeremy and Odd.

"He doesn't need us right now Yumi," Odd hissed.

"He needs to be alone," Aelita nodded.

"I can hear you," Ulrich's voice filtered through the trees, "I saw you the whole time." Yumi glanced at the others before getting up yet again.

"Are- are you all right?" she asked.

"What do you think?"

She squatted and put a hand on his arm. Slowly, she pried it away from his face.

"Why does it have to be like this?" he suddenly yelled.

"I-" she started, but instead she stared at him as he lifted his head to the rain. The water kissed his cheeks and he blinked, his eyes filling with unshed tears.

"WHY CAN'T I LIVE A NORMAL LIFE, HUH?" he yelled to the sky. She could tell he wasn't talking to anyone in particular.

"Why?" he screamed, "Why did you have to go to such lengths, dad?"

He was talking to someone. His dad. And there was no one to answer.

"Ulrich, your dad's-"

"I know he's dead!" he said, throwing a sharp glare at her. The rain was slowly fading and the sun started to come out of hiding. She blinked and looked out to see it rise, not knowing that so much time had passed.

"Go on. You need to be home… _all _of you," he stared directly at the tree which Aelita, Odd, and Jeremy still cowered behind.

He stood and started salvaging pieces of equipment that weren't damaged too much.

"Do you need us to help?" Aelita asked politely.

He wrapped a fist tightly around a burnt piece of paper, crumbling to ashes in his grip. "No. I'm fine. Go."

"But-" Yumi began.

"Come on Yumi," Jeremy took her by the elbow

She hung her head in defeat and followed the rest of them back to the school. Ulrich looked over his shoulder and once they were gone, he pressed a button on a piece of equipment. Slowly, large sections of the demolished building rose and started placing themselves together. After a few minutes, the entire building was standing around the tree again. He grabbed all of the other parts of his melting experiments and entered the place. Throwing them all by the door, he ran to the tree and pressed a knob on its trunk. A huge chunk of bark, as tall and as wide as him, fell to the floor, exposing a small, narrow staircase carved in the trunk. He squeezed inside and walked up the stairs, emerging onto a whole other floor packed with doctor supplies and animal medications and necessities. Jumping over a fallen table, he felt around on the wall. He suddenly found a deep crevice about the height of his stomach. He pulled up on it and a soft 'mew' escaped as light hit three furry creatures.

"Shh, it's okay…" he whispered. He took one out of the hidden cage and placed it in a padded basket. He did the same with the other three and went over to a cupboard in the corner. He opened it, revealing a portable oven, some milk, a pot, and a few bottles. He smiled and took everything out.

.: Later That Day :.

Yumi bit her nails and waited for the bell to ring. Once it did, she dashed out of the class and out toward the bench.

"Yumi!" She turned around and saw Richard coming toward her. She slowed her pace to a walk and waited for him as he caught up.

"Hey!" he smiled, out of breath.

"Hi!" she smiled.

He looked around, "Hey, Yumes, come to my dorm tonight for a special surprise. Eight o'clock. Okay? Will you be there?"

"You bet!" she said excitedly. She felt a satisfying tingle reach down to her toes.

He beamed, "Great! See you then!" He planted a short kiss on her lips and rushed away. A broad grin placed itself on her face as she arrived at the bench. Sitting down, she brushed her lips with her fingertips and giggled. Her friends came up to the bench, Odd in the lead.

"He didn't come to class!" the purple-clad boy fumed, "I had to cover for him and everything!"

"Calm down, Odd. After all, his sister _did_ die last night."

"Wait… did you say that he wasn't in class?" Yumi asked, her smile fading.

"No, he didn't," Aelita sighed. Yumi stood up abruptly.

"We need to go find him!"

Jeremy shook his head, "Fine. But if he kills us, I'm blaming you."

"Deal!" Yumi laughed. With that, they set off toward the forest in the direction of Ulrich. When they arrived, they were surprised when they saw no bodies on the ground and a tall building standing erect around Ulrich's favorite tree.

"What the-" Odd stared up at it. Jeremy and Aelita were inspecting the ashes and blood on the ground to assure themselves that the fight had, in fact, been real. Yumi stood staring as Odd knocked on the door.

There was a curse from above them and they heard a hiss and the clanging of plastic and metal. After a few quiet moments, Ulrich opened the door. His eyes were red and he had bags under his eyes. He let out a huge fit of coughing and double over for a few seconds.

"What do you want?" he rasped, straightening up.

"Where did everyone go?" asked Aelita as she came toward the door with Jeremy, who looked sickened at the sight of so much blood.

"I called the police a few hours ago. They took my sister, Fritzi, and my uncle to the mortician and then they arrested the rest of them," Ulrich coughed again.

Odd peeked inside the building, "What is this place?"

Ulrich sighed and opened the door all the way and led them into the structure.

**HA! CLIFFIE! Not exactly, but still a cliffie. Anywho, if you can guess what the three furry things are, then maybe you'll get a new chappie! But I might have to lay a few rules down… once the fifth person guesses, I'll update… if 5 people don't guess it… then… you'll have to wait until noon on Saturday… Muahahahaha! Oh, and I put up another one-shot… it's called 'Love Stinks' and you can use any pairing… heh… I got bored… maybe I'll update Royal Pain today too… also might update Into the Goal… as well as make another one-shot… heh… I've got a busy 4th of July planned! HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY TO THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA! Heehee! Review please!**

**-Mi ChIbO-**

**beep…**


	5. Furry Felines

**I don't own Code Lyoko, blah blah blah… But I do own all my OCs! Okay… a few of you were right, the furry things WERE Fritzi's babies! YAY YOU! Okay… here's chapter five!**

He snapped and the shades covering the unseen windows lifted up, exposing the room. They all stared in wonder at all the salvaged tools and parts. He rolled his eyes.

"Please don't touch anything. I guess you can come up and meet them. I know that you heard them." He opened the trunk of the tree and disappeared into it. The others glanced at each other before squeezing into the tree and following him. They emerged in a brightly lit room where Ulrich was opening and closing cupboards. He shoved some blankets into Odd's hands, handed Jeremy the portable oven, gave Aelita a jar with white power in it and some plastic bottles and handed a pitcher to Yumi.

"Fill it up at the base of the third tree to your right as you walk out the door. There should be an abandoned well there. Could you all take this stuff outside? I'll be down in a second. Spread the blankets out at the base of a tree."

They stared at him as he turned around. He walked a few paces before turning his head and smirking slightly.

"I'm not going anywhere."

Blushing, they did what he requested.

They spread out the blankets under a tree and set their stuff down. Yumi came back with a pail of water and she set it by the base of the oak they were under. She then sat down with the rest of them and waited.

About five minutes later, Ulrich came out. in his arms, clawing at his skin, were three baby mountain lions. The guys gasped and Aelita let out a soft "Aww." Yumi sat in shock as Ulrich Set one in her arms. He then handed one to Odd and one to Aelita. Jeremy rubbed the stomach of the one in Aelita's arms.

"Meet Tut," he gestured to the one Odd held, "Kiki." The one Aelita cradled. "And Sora," he scratched the head of the one in Yumi's arms. It licked his palm and its pink nose nudged his fingers. He smiled slightly and took the items he had them lay out. he filled the bottles (there were only three) halfway with water and dumped some of the powder from the jar into each. He capped them and shook them up before placing them on the oven. He stuck his hand under it and flipped a switch. Almost instantly, it went red and started heating the bottles.

Jeremy and Aelita were playing with Kiki and Odd seemed to be having a pretty good time with Tut too. Ulrich leaned up against the tree and closed his eyes. Yumi was absentmindedly scratching Sora under her chin while she stared at Ulrich.

He shifted and let his eyes slide open. His brown orbs flicked to her and caught her gaze. In that one moment, she felt she knew more about him than ever before. That she could now fully understand him. That he would never be a burden to them again. In that one moment, it seemed, she was a part of him.

But the connection broke when he grunted and muttered, "What?"

"Oh! Nothing," she looked back down at Sora. Suddenly, she noticed something.

"Ulrich! Sora isn't blinking!"

Aelita, Odd, and Jeremy looked up at her cry. Ulrich just leaned forward, his elbows on his knees. He curled his hands into fists and rested his head on them before answering.

"I know Yumi," he said calmly, just about making them shoot out of their skins, "You see, Sora isn't like the other cats in this forest. Sora… is blind."

-:--Later That Day… Again--:-

Yumi slowly helped Ulrich put away the stuff he had out. All that could be heard was the click of plastic on wood and the clunk of metal as they cleaned up. She had stayed behind to help him tidy up before she went to meet her fiancé for the night. Peeking at Ulrich's strong build behind her, she felt a pang of emotion she couldn't describe. She pushed the thought of it away and climbed down off of the stool.

Hesitating, she called out to him as she reached the door, "Bye Ulrich!" He looked up and his hand shot up in a wave before he crouched down to lift a heavy box.

Yumi sighed and walked out of the structure. She trudged back to her house to get ready.

Ulrich slid the box into place on a wooden shelf. He walked over to the basket in the corner and pushed a small button on the wall. A section of it opened and a curtain rod slid out of it. A filmy material floated along it and just barely hid the basket from view. He took a piece of paper off of the workbench and draped his jacket over one arm. He clapped once and walked out, his eyes skimming over the white paper. He arrived at the school and set out for the principal's office.

-:--With Odd, Aelita, and Jeremy--:-

Aelita sat on Jeremy's bed, her knees pulled up to her chest. The bed's owner sat in front of his computer, typing away. Odd was on the floor with Kiwi, throwing a ball for him to fetch. Jeremy pushed his glasses up and pressed enter.

A satisfied smirk set itself on his face, "Watch out XANA. Here we come."

**I just got this finished… sorry about the wait. Thanks for being patient! You know the drill, after you read, REVIEW! I gotta go! Bye!**

**-Mi ChIbO-**

**beep…**


	6. Breaking Off

**Okay… I'm finally updating at least ONE of my stories… I'll try writing the next chappie of ITG next… HAH! Take THAT Mikiko-chan! Oh, sorry… heehee… I'll update faster next time! Or I'll try at least… I don't own CL and all that blah… so here's chapter 6!**

Ulrich looked up at the door in front of him. The threatening "PRINCIPAL" didn't faze him as he knocked and opened the door. The secretary looked up from her computer and lowered her glasses, looking him over.

"Mr. Delmas is in his office at the moment."

"Don't worry," Ulrich said, strutting toward the door on the opposite wall, "He's already expecting me." The woman stared at him warily.

Then, her eyes snapped back to the computer's screen, "All right, go in then."

The brunette pushed the handle of the door down and slid it open. The principal whipped his head around to look at the teen and quickly sighed in relief.

"Ah Ulrich here for-"

"I'll do it," he said, cutting the elder man off.

"Pardon me?"

"I'll sign up with them."

The principal wiped his brow, "A fine choice, my boy. Now let's see… where did I put that pen? Ah. There you are." He took a handsome silver fountain pen from a drawer and handed it to Ulrich along with a large piece of paper.

"Sign right there on the dotted line at the bottom," Mr. Delmas smiled, pointing a pudgy finger at the bottom of the paper. Ulrich looked over the document before scratching his name on the line.

"Excellent. I'll be sure to tell them your answer right away! And I'll call you up when- Ulrich?" he looked around the office, confused. The tall boy was gone.

Yumi traced her full lips with the dark red gloss stick. She screwed the cap on and leaned onto her elbows to stare at her reflection in the mirror in front of her.

"Why do I have this feeling that I'm doing something wrong?" she whispered to herself. Shrugging, she stood up, pushed the chair under her vanity and walked to the door. Taking her coat from the wooden hook on the wall, she looked back into her room and snapped off the light. She tread down the stairs and told her mom she was leaving. Then, she slipped on the coat and walked out into the dark. The wind whispered in her ears and the moon shone full in front of her eyes. As she entered the gates, she saw Ulrich a few yards in front of her.

"Ulrich!" she called. Her voice fell upon deaf ears as he slipped inside the doors. She sighed and continued up to her fiancé's dorm. The carpet muffled the sound of her shoes while she walked down the hall and knocked on his door. Richard opened the door and grinned, standing aside so that she could come in.

"Hi," she smiled painfully.

"Hello," he smirked, pushing her up against the door, "I've been waiting. Want to have some fun?"

Her eyes widened as he kissed her hungrily and he slid his hand along her thigh. She would have screamed, but his mouth was clamped upon hers hard. She trembled as he moved his fingers to her stomach and went upward. Pushing him off of her, she tore the ring from her finger and threw it at him, screaming, "GET AWAY YOU SICK, TWISETED B-ST-RD!" Tears flowed freely down her face as she yanked the door open and flung herself out into the hall, sobbing. She turned a blind eye on where her feet carried her. Then suddenly, she found herself in front of Ulrich's little building in the woods. She fell onto the wall and slid down. The ground was soft, and she didn't feel like she could move at all, so she stayed there. Her face was set like concrete in her crossed arms and her knees were pulled up to her chest. She wanted someone who cares. All she needed was a friend. Somebody who she could lean on and cry her heart out. A person who'd just listen. Oh, who was she kidding? She wanted- no, _needed_- Ulrich.

"Ulrich, I'm sorry…" she cried, "I'M SORRY!"

"What?" She nearly fell over in surprise as a deep voice answered her own. She looked up to see Ulrich standing over her, his jacket thrown over his arm. Jumping up, she threw her arms around him and buried her face in his shoulder.

"What happened Yumi?" he asked, his voice soothing her nerves… a little. He put an arm around her shoulders, opened the door, and led her inside. Clapping, he guided her through the now-lit room and over to a two-seater couch in the far corner. He sat her down, disappeared for a little bit, and appeared again with two steaming mugs of hot chocolate. Handing one to her, he sat down on her left and leaned back, looking at her. She stared into the cup, took a sip, and went back to staring at it again. He set his mug on a little table beside the couch and looked at her again.

"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked in the voice that relieved her of her problems every time she told him. She started to shake her head, stopped, and vigorously started nodding. He took the cup from her hands and set it down before she spilled it all over herself.

"Then what is it?" he whispered, dragging a hair away from her eyes and placing it behind her ear. She took a deep breath.

"I- I- I went to Richard's dorm. He asked me to. And right after I got there he…" her voice fell.

"Did he…?" Ulrich muttered. She nodded, tears flowing freely down her face.

"But I pushed him off before he could actually _do_ anything… and I broke off our engagement obviously. But I… I just don't know… It feels like a part of me is missing."

"Well," the brunette mumbled, "I'm sure you'll find it." He leaned forward, his elbows on his knees and his head resting in his hands as his gaze fell to the floor.

She twisted a lock of hair around her finger and thought back to when she had been helping Ulrich pack up, "I think… I already have." She looked at him and he lifted his head to stare back.

Aelita stared out of the window of Jeremy's dorm as she stroked the fur of Kiwi who lay in her lap. Soft, streaky clouds floated past the full moon and a low howl could be heard from far off. She looked over at the dorm's other occupants. Odd was asleep on the floor, his back against the wall. Jeremy's face was pressed against the computer screen. Kiwi's fur slid through her fingers as the dog jumped down to the floor and padded over to his owner to tongue the sleeping boy's face. She went over to Jeremy, kissed him on the cheek, and then went over to Odd and wiped the drool from his mouth using his shirt. She then softly tiptoed to the door and slipped into the hall. She ambled down the corridor dizzily before suddenly passing out.

Jeremy jumped and he heard a thump. He saw Odd against the wall and soon saw that Aelita was gone. He sprang up and poked his head out into the hall. Noticing Aelita on the floor, he shot out of the room like a rocket and kneeled swiftly at her side.

"Aelita! Aelita please answer me!" he pleaded. Other people started to peek out of their dorms, most of them in their nightclothes. Odd appeared in Jeremy's doorway, rubbing his eyes sleepily. He fully woke up when he saw Aelita in Jeremy's arms unconscious. He dashed over to the couple.

"What happened?" he hissed, "Is it XANA?"

"I don't know!" Jeremy whispered worriedly, "I just found her out her and-" He was cut off as the lights started flickering and a hard rain started pounding against the windows. Odd looked up as the ceiling started to sag from the water above.

"It could only be…"

"Come on!" Jeremy elbowed Odd in the leg and the purple-clad boy bent down to help Jeremy.

Ulrich stared at Yumi, who looked levelly back. Suddenly, the power went out in the building, plunging them into complete darkness. Ulrich jumped up and ran over to the door. Throwing it open, he was pushed back by a huge gust of wind and rain. Yumi screamed his name and ran over to him. He got up himself and locked his gaze on hers.

"XANA!" he yelled over the wind.

"Let's go make sure the others are okay!" Yumi shouted over the howling wind. He nodded and they tossed themselves into the growing storm. Branches and bark flew off the trees and straight at them. One particularly large limb came very near to hitting Yumi in the head, but was held back by Ulrich. They fought their way through the forest and onto the school grounds.

Finally making it to the dorm building, they flung themselves into the structure and slammed the doors behind them. Taking the stairs two at a time, they reached the boy's floor just in time to see Jeremy hit Odd in the leg.

"Aelita!" Yumi yelled, attracting lots of attention to them. Ulrich ignored the staring eyes and fought his way through the crowd and reached Jeremy, Odd, and Aelita.

"What happened?" he demanded. Odd explained everything as Jeremy tried unsuccessfully to carry Aelita on his back. Ulrich put his hand on Jeremy's arm, nodding to the blonde when he looked up. The boy smiled and helped the brunette drape the girl over his back, wrapping her arms around his neck. Yumi cast a glance as he tightened his muscles and stood up. Unexpectedly, a hand placed itself on her shoulder.

"Yo, Yumi, why'd you run," Richard laughed from behind her.

"Hey, buddy," a strong voice broke though her frightened thoughts, "I don't think she wants you here right now." The hand was pried away from her shoulder and she opened her eyes, which had been shut tightly and saw Odd, his hand on his hip, standing to her right, Jeremy in the middle looking very serious with his arms crossed, and Ulrich to her left, Aelita on his back and his hand wrapped roughly around Richard's. All three looked equally infuriated.

"Thank you Odd," Ulrich said in a heated tone. The blonde let his head tilt slightly down and not lift up, looking more than just livid.

"I couldn't have said it better myself," Jeremy spat as he stared daggers at Richard. Ulrich threw the boy's hand to the side and took Yumi's arm, pulling her toward them. Odd stepped in front of the terrified Japanese girl.

"If you broke her heart, I'll break your face **(A/N: Heehee… I saw this on an icon… okay, back to the story)**," he stated cruelly, glaring at Yumi's ex-fiancé.

"Chill dude, I didn't do anything wrong!" Richard chuckled. Ulrich's eyes flicked to Yumi, who looked back at him with knowing eyes. He silently asked her a question without words. She nodded.

"Oh, but you did…"

All of a sudden, the ceiling started to crack.

**OooooOOOOhhh…. What's gonna happen? Heehee… only I know! Until… I put up the next chappie… which will be soon… heh… anywho, review before you leave please!**

**-Mi ChIbO-**

**beep…**


	7. Known Before And Now Again

**I'm soooooo sorry about not updating!See the bottom as to why… I have a lot to do… oh, and I don't own anything that's real… so… yeah… here you go! My stinker of a chappie, along with my regards of it being so late:**

Yumi screamed as a rough hand grabbed her own and pulled her out of the way. The ceiling fell and plaster went everywhere. A strong arm pushed her into another body and shielded her face. When the dust cleared, the Japanese girl looked up and screamed again. Under numerous layers of the broken ceiling, Richard's bloody body lay twisted on the floor… _dead_.

"Come on guys! We've got to get out!" she heard a raspy voice say. It was Ulrich. She felt the arm loosen and then push her towards Jeremy and Odd who were already at the door. Ulrich was the one who had grabbed her. He was the one who protected her. And he was the one who had Aelita safely balanced on his back. She looked at the brunette as he swiftly knocked the hair from his eyes and kicked open the door. Boards and plaster littered the stairs as well, they soon realized. Ulrich and Odd were working a large board out of the way when Jim appeared behind them.

"WHAT ARE YOU KIDS DOING?"

Yumi jumped as they all whipped around, Ulrich careful to mind the young girl on his back. Ulrich and Odd looked nothing short of furious, but it wasn't either of them that punched the gym teacher in the nose. No… it was Jeremy. They all looked at him, astounded.

"Come on," he growled, "We've got a world to save."

---- At The Factory ----

They stepped into the elevator and traveled down to the scanner room after dropping Jeremy off at his designated floor. Ulrich placed Aelita in one scanner as Yumi and Odd got in the other two. The raven looked at Ulrich and opened her mouth to say something, but the scanner doors closed before she could get it out.

The two warriors and the comatose girl were materialized, particle-by-particle, in Lyoko. Once fully arrived, they dropped to the ground and Aelita woke up… or at least… they thought she would.

The pink-haired girl lay on the ground, her eyes open and staring off into the endless blue sky of the desert region. Yumi and Odd rushed over to her as her eyes slid open, revealing two glassy orbs that were no longer green as they always were. In fact, they weren't even a color. In her irises, shinning like there was a transparent silver sheet separating them from the entire world, showed short clips of her past memories playing out.

Suddenly, the brunette back on earth was hit with a pounding headache. He squeezed his eyes shut and tugged at his hair fitfully. Jeremy called to him from the speakers.

"Ulrich?"

There was no answer.

"ULRICH!" Jeremy yelled again. After a few seconds, in which the boy did not respond, he jumped from the chair and rushed to the elevator. Once he reached the scanner room, he looked down to see him passed out on the floor.

He was breathing fitfully. As if a giant hand was squeezing his lungs and making it herd to breathe. Jeremy walked over and jumped as his eyes snapped open. Playing inside his orbs were the same memories running through the Lyoko Princess'. And then, the two both spoke at the same time.

It wasn't it their regular voice, though. It was more of a heavy laden drone. As if a giant hand was stretching out their words and their voices had been lowered. But what was strange, was they were speaking in an entirely different language...

"Be--ka--nnt … Vor… Und… Jetzt… Wie--der…" **(the -- just means they're holding it out a little before going to the next syllable, kay? X) Oh… and it means 'Known before and now again'… it's in German...)**

Before the three knew what was happening, they were being sucked into a strong memory through the eyes of Aelita and Ulrich.

Yumi, Odd, and Jeremy landed with a thud on the wooden floor of the Hermitage. Jeremy scooted back quickly when he saw his friends and let out a strangled yell. Yumi and Odd blinked in surprise as well.

"W-w-wow…" said Jeremy, his breathing jagged.

Odd stood up. A light cloth passed over his skin and he looked down. He and Yumi were still in their Lyoko form.

"How weird is this?" he grinned.

Yumi took out her fan, which crumbled to dust in her hand, "This is not normal."

"Care to explain, Einstein?" Odd smirked.

"I- well- you see-" the genius sighed, "I can't." All of a sudden, a sniff echoed across the living room. They all jumped and looked around for the cause of the noise. In the farthest corner of the room, a little girl in a overall jean dress **(you know… the dress that looks like overalls?)** and a pretty black lacey blouse. She only looked about two or three, and her large green eyes were washed with tears. A little boy stood next to her, his black polo shirt and dress pants looking way too big for him and his shoes dangling by the laces in his hands. He was running a hand through his tousled, unkempt hair with a sorrowed frown glued to his childish face. He looked about the same age as the crying girl.

But the thing that caught the trio's eyes the most was the kids' hair. The boy's was a soft, chocolaty brown while the girl's was a light, fluffy pink.

**Yes, I know it was short… but I wanted to give you something. My life's been hectic over the last few weeks with my school starting again and everything. I have lots of things to do, including logo design, art, piano, yearbook, chorus, drama, and all that jazz. So… yeah… I may not update as often, and I'm sorry! Really! I love writing, but I don't have the time with all my homework bombarding me every night. So… I thought I'd give you this dud of a chappie at least. I'll be updating LIHV next and then my most popular story, ITG. Yeah… heh… again, I'm sorry, and I hope you all will forgive me! Review please!**

**-Mi ChIbO-**

**beep…**


	8. The Past He Tried To Hide

Yumi stared at the image before her and thought to herself, _'Dang, he was cute when he was little as well.'_ Ironically enough, the same thoughts were running through Jeremy's mind about the 2-year-old Aelita. Odd, being prone to simple-mindedness, saw the tears and just by chance stared out the window of the Hermitage. He tapped his friends on their shoulders and beckoned them over. They pressed their faces to the grimy glass and looked out onto a grave sight. Literally. A man, who they took to be a preacher, was standing over a large gravestone, mumbling silent words they couldn't hear.

"I sorry, Lee-lee." They all jumped. The mini-Ulrich's voice was a whole lot different than the one they knew.

"It's okay Uwwick. Daddy says dat mommy went to h-h-heaven!" Aelita said before bursting into tears. Ulrich held out his hand and she looked up at him tearfully.

"Come on, Lee-lee, let's go for a walk." Little 'Lita nodded and took the tanned arm he extended. After he pulled her up, they let go and walked to the door. Suddenly, it slid open, causing the both of them to jump back in alarm. A tall German man and a petite woman with Ulrich's eyes and hair stood sternly in the doorway (A/N: hah! The Sterns stood 'sternly' in the doorway! I just realized that right after I typed it!). Ulrich gulped and mumbled a greeting to his aunt and uncle.

"Ulrich David Stern (A/N: What! I don't know his real middle name!), you were _not_ given permission to leave!" A portly man that Yumi, Odd, and Jeremy knew only from files they found stepped into view. Franz Hopper cleared his throat and stared down at his daughter and her friend.

"Aelita, come with me. The pastor wants to talk to you." The small pink-haired girl nodded and looked over to her companion, who was being talked to harshly, before following her father out the door. As the door slid shut, Ulrich's aunt and uncle raised their voices. Ulrich was staring at the floor, his hands itching to clench themselves into fists.

"Do you understand, boy!" the man yelled. Ulrich's jaw noticeably tightened. The woman brought her hand to his face and slapped him smartly across the cheek. The impact made him crumble to the floor. His uncle pulled him up by the shirt and slammed him against the wall, his hand pressed firmly to Ulrich's throat, blocking the path of air to his lungs. Ulrich gasped for the needed oxygen. Yumi's eyes widened as the man hissed at him.

"Answer me, Ulrich!"

"Ye..s… s..ir.." Ulrich's tiny body heaved for the wanted air. The man let go and the small boy fell a good four feet to the floor. Spitting on Ulrich, he kicked him.

"Your mother wouldn't have put up with it either, boy, let me tell you _that_. Now come outside. We have to pay our _respects_…" That last word lingered in the air as the man and woman walked outside and shut the door, leaving Ulrich to pick himself up. Yumi backed up against Jeremy, her hands to her mouth. The blonde genius was in shock himself as the little Ulrich stood up, grabbed his shoes, and trudged out the door like nothing had happened.

"That was-" Odd began.

"Ulrich when he was little. Getting abused…" Yumi said shakily, tears welling up in her eyes.

Jeremy patted her on the back in a brotherly way, "Yes, but he's only about three, isn't he? No three-year-old is _that_ tough! He must have been really strong… physically _and_ emotionally. I mean, I would never have survived something like _that_…"

"But… why didn't he tell us?"

"About which part?" Odd muttered.

Jeremy and Yumi looked at him, confused, "What?"

"Which part are you talking about? The part that he got abused, or the part that he knew Aelita before we even found L.yoko?"

The realization then dawned upon the oblivious pair.

Ulrich had known Aelita before Lyoko had been found.

All of a sudden, the room started to fade to black and a white light burst in front of their eyes before they found themselves in the same places they'd been before: Jeremy and Ulrich on Earth, and Yumi, Odd, and Aelita on Lyoko.

-----------

Odd was lying on the floor, throwing a hackysac up in the air and catching it in front of his face. Yumi sat on the bed, leaning against the wall with her arms crossed and her legs falling to one side. She swept her hair out of her face and looked at Ulrich's sleeping face, his head lying on her lap. Aelita had been made a makeshift bed on the floor, her cheek resting comfortably on a pillow and a blanket placed over her unconscious form. That was how they had found them—unconscious. Jeremy sat in his computer chair, staring intently at Aelita. Yumi pulled her hand away and her eyes widened as Aelita began to shift. Odd's hackysac hit him in the face before her rolled over and propped himself on his hands, looking very much like a seal. Jeremy shot out of his chair and knelt on one knee next to his love. (A/N: Not that she knew that… lol.)

"Aelita?" Yumi asked in a whisper. Then, unexpectedly, Ulrich's head moved on her lap. He and Aelita jolted up at the same time, both a pale white.

"WEIDER!" (yes, German… it means 'again') they both shouted in unison. Then they looked at each other and let out strangled cries. Ulrich jumped up from the bed and looked around the room. Aelita just stared at him. The brunette paced for a minute and then noticed Jeremy, Yumi, and Odd looking on in complete fascination. He looked at the floor and mumbled something in German.

Aelita looked down at her lap, squeezing her hands.

Ulrich sighed to himself and lifted his head, "You saw, didn't you."

"Ulrich, that's so horrible! I'm sorry—" There was a loud slam and Yumi was cut off. Ulrich had left the room. They all turned to the silent bubblegum-haired girl on the floor.

"Aelita?" Jeremy prodded.

"I didn't remember. I forgot that I even knew him before my dad put me on Lyoko. I mean, I did lose my memories…" she offered.

"I guess you didn't regain them all," Odd slid his knees forward and rested on his feet in a squatting position. Yumi still stared at the closed door.

"Yumi?" Jeremy raised an eyebrow, "You look like you're thinking about more than just why Ulrich won't talk to us about his past."

She stared at her legs, "Can you guys keep a secret?"

**And I'll leave it there. Yup, a cliffie. I don't think there's been a big one like this in a while. But yeah… I gotta go. I'll be working on the next chapter for Royal Pain next and then there'll be Into the Goal and lost In Her Voice. But yeah. I hope you liked it! Check out my newest one-shot, My Immortal! Please? I'll give you a lollipop? Heh… yeah… please review it too! And also this chappie as well! Love you guys lots! (Dearly, not queerly!)**

**-Mi ChIbO-**

**beep…**


	9. Unexpected Actions

**Hellooo! I'm back again! Teehee! Okay, here's chapter nine of CLWL! I don't own code Lyoko or anything… unfortunately… but I do own this story and if you steal it, you DIE! –innocent little girl look— okay, let's get the show on the road. Oh, and just so you know: THE NEXT CHAPTER WILL BE THE LAST! Have fun reading!**

Yumi stepped out of the Jeremy's and closed it with a soft click. She looked up and saw Ulrich walking toward her through the darkness. He lifted his head and their eyes caught each other's. They both stopped where they were, the moonlight falling on them and casting their features into shadow. He turned his head away.

"Hey," he mumbled.

"Hey."

"Look, I'm sorry I walked out on you guys, but my past isn't something I'm going to reveal to everyone over the intercom. It's confusing…"

"We're all confused at the moment," she pointed out, "And you're not really helping much with all your secret-keeping."

He smiled softly and took a few cautious steps forward, "Yeah, I know. But Yumi?"

"Yes?" she breathed, her starting to beat faster with each inch he moved toward her. He stopped a foot away from her and looked audaciously into her eyes.

"It'll all get clearer soon, I promise," he said confidently.

She craned her neck to get a good look at his face, "But how do you know that?"

He looked at the ground, her, then back at the ground again. "I'm leaving Kadic."

She stared at him with wide eyes.

"What?" she whispered as anger rose within her, "WHAT?! Ulrich why? How could you leave only me, Odd, Jeremy, and Aelita to fight XANA?! What's with you all of a sudden? Can't you see we need you?"

"You guys are strong, you don't need me."

"I'm not just talking about Lyoko, Ulrich!"

"Huh?"

She slapped a hand to her mouth, but she knew the words were already out. he towered over her. "What do you mean, Yumi?"

"Nothing," she hissed, looking at the wall. He pushed her against the wall.

"What did you _MEAN_, Yumi?!"

"Nothing! I told you, now leave me alone!" she cried, though in her heart, that was the last thing she wanted him to do.

"Tell me, Yumi!"

"No!"

"Yumi-"

"I LOVE YOU, OKAY?!"

As soon as the words escaped her lips, he pulled away and pressed his back to the opposite wall.

"You-" he couldn't bring himself to finish his sentence and darted away. On sudden impulse, she raced after him.

"Ulrich!"

"What the heck—Don't chase after me!"

"I will if I want to!"

All of a sudden he stopped and turned, causing her to slam into him. He was knocked back a few steps, but otherwise still standing. He took her wrists and forced her to look him in the eye. "Yumi, please say you didn't say that."

"What? 'I will if I—'"

"Not that!" he cut her off, squeezing his eyes shut as if to prepare for the worst, "Please tell me you didn't say… 'I love you'…"

She felt her eyes fill with tears, "But…"

He let her go without warning and shot across the courtyard and into the forest.

"Hey Yumi!" she turned as her name rang out from behind.

"Richard?" she whispered fearfully. **(a/n: I failed to mention that they had a return to the past in the last chapter, so the building isn't crushed and Richard is still alive… unfortunately XD)**

"You know, it's not fair to keep a guy waiting Yumi," he said, showing her his watch, which read _8:52_, "I was waiting fifty minutes to have some fun with you. Come on, I've prepared my room!"

"No!" she yelled, startling him. She pulled her hand from his grasp and tugged at the ring on her finger. Once it was off, she threw it. He stood in shock as it bounced off his head and rolled away. "We're through, Richard, THROUGH! And I'm going to wait until I'm married to do what you were going to have me do tonight with you! CREEP!" She uttered some unfriendly names under her breath and ran away.

Suddenly, she ran into something hard. Figuring it was a tree, she dodged it the second time and kept on running. Someone grabbed her hand and she twisted around, assuming it was Richard.

"I-' she froze as Ulrich's stern gaze caught her eye. Time froze and all she could do was stare at him and him at her. He let go and moved his gaze to something behind her. She turned around to see the building he built. Or what was left of it. He looked back at her before walking into the demolished structure and pulling out a few things. A basket, three bottles, a portable stove, blankets, and a large jar of white powder appeared at her feet. She crouched down and lifted a corner of the blanket that covered the basket. Three furry lumps sat in it—only one moving. Two of Ulrich's pets had been killed, she realized with a jolt. She picked up the one living and cradled it.

"I found Tut and Kiki dead at the base of the creek. Sora was still here; being blind she couldn't have gone anywhere. The current was too much for them and they drowned, eventually being washed up on shore," he said solemnly. He walked around for a while, then pulled out a shovel from the rubble and moved over to a patch of land beneath a tree. After about an hour, with Yumi exploring the destroyed building—Sora in her arms—he stepped back and she wandered over. Two deep holes had been dug at the base of Ulrich's favorite tree. She stared down at them as he retrieved the basket and softly placed Tut and Kiki each in one of the graves. He said a soft prayer in German before taking up the shovel and covering their motionless bodies. Yumi had curled a hand around a fistful of his jacket as he wrote the names of the dead mountain lions in the hard earth. "I'm sorry," he whispered to the ground. He knelt down and stared and clasped his hands, "So, so sorry."

Yumi bent down next to him and put Sora in his arms. She then wrapped her own around him from behind and swayed, humming an old Japanese lullaby in his ear.

"It's not your fault," she whispered to him soothingly, "You couldn't have prevented death. It's unnatural."

"But Lyeah and Fritzi-"

"Are both in a better place now," she cut in firmly, "And don't need you to put yourself down over what couldn't be helped." He nodded obediently; like a little kid. She ran her finger along the bridge of Sora's nose. "But _I'm_ sorry."

"What for?" he asked weakly. She rested her chin on his shoulder and stared at Sora, who had just fallen asleep.

"For saying what I did," she answered levelly.

"And that would be…?"

"I love you."

He stopped in mid-pet and looked out of the corner of his eye at her. She moved to sit beside him and stroked Sora's fur as he stared at her. After a while, he looked back at Sora.

"Yumi, I have a question for you."

"Hmmm?"

"Did… did you mean it?"

"Well, yeah. I obviously don't go yelling at Odd and Jeremy and screaming 'I love you' at the top of my lungs. Why?" She grew cautious as he started grinning from ear-to-ear and didn't answer. "Why?" she asked again, dragging out the word just the slightest bit. He turned his head and, out of the blue, he pressed his mouth to hers while she was speaking. His tongue slipped into her open mouth, surprising her to say the least. As unexpectedly as he did it, he stopped and went back to petting Sora as if nothing had happened. As if he hadn't been kissing her the most romantically she'd ever been kissed in her life. She lifted a hand to her lips and blushed furiously. He saw this and smirked. After about a moment's hesitation, she pulled Sora out of his arms and put her in the discarded basket. She then whipped around, grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and yelled in his face while he smiled calmly.

"What was that for?! A simple 'I love you too' would have been enough! You should've asked before just-" She never got to finish her shout, because he kissed her again, though not as passionately as before. He pulled away again abruptly and padded over to part of the building that was standing, tearing it apart quickly. You couldn't miss the taunting smile on his face as she turned a dark purple. She put her hands on her cheeks as if the blush would rub off on them and leave her face its normal color again. Behind her, she heard a soft hum and the tune of the old Japanese lullaby soon filled her ears. A cheesy grin crept onto her face and she walked up behind him, careful to not make a sound. She tapped him on the shoulder and as soon as he turned around, she threw her arms around his neck and their lips connected for the third time.

**Nope, no cliffie this time… OMG! Only ONE. MORE. CHAPTER! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! –runs around in circles— teehee… please review this fluffy chapter. Oh, and I'll explain more about Ulrich's visit to the principal in the next chappie, but remember, since they did a RTTP, he hasn't gone yet. Yup, yup, yup! See you next time, and be prepared because next time will be the end! Lol, bye!**

**-Mi ChIbO-**

**beep…**


	10. In The End

**Normally, there would be a bunch of random, unrelated junk here, but for now I think I'll let you read the last chapter of CLWL. Sorry for the long wait! I don't own Code: Lyoko either!! Phooey…**

.:: One Year Later ::.

Yumi stirred from her peaceful slumber to the sun shining through the window of her room. She sat up and yawned. Pulling her long, slender legs out from under the covers, she stretched and stood. She blinked to clear her eyes and got dressed. Once fully clothed, she tramped downstairs and grabbed a breakfast bar and her backpack, hurrying out the door.

She sprinted toward the school, the cold wind sharpening her senses. Her black hair – now long and layered – whipped out behind her and she laughed. She reached the school gates and slowed to a semi-fast sprint. Suddenly, a mop of brown hair, longer than it used to be, caught her eye.

She felt herself smile. "Ulrich!" The brunette turned around and gave her his trademark grin. Her heart raced as she got faster, running into his arms and letting him lift her into the air, twirling around gracefully. When he finally set her down, he took her by the shoulders and pushed his lips onto hers.

"Love you," he murmured against her mouth. Her arms encircled his neck as she smiled into the kiss.

"Same here."

"Get a room!" someone called from somewhere over to the right. The couple broke apart and his hand drifted down to rest around her waist as they turned.

"Shut up, Odd," Yumi said, sticking her tongue out in a childish gesture.

Odd put a hand to his heart dramatically, "Oh, Yumi dear, that hurts!"

Ulrich threw a textbook at him.

Yumi laughed and nuzzled into his chest, "Hey Ulrich?"

"Yeah?" he asked softly, kissing her hair.

"I'm really glad you didn't take the position that band offered you last year." **(a/n: yes, this was the paper Ulrich had been taking to discuss with the principal. He was going to accept the position he would have been a vocalist but when he and Yumi kissed, he decided there were better things in life… coughYUMIcough)**

"Speaking of which, they sent me another letter."

Yumi looked up at him, "And?"

He laughed, "Don't worry. They offered me the same position, but I declined. Again." Her face broke into a beam and she burrowed her head into his chest.

"I'm glad."

"Well, do you know what today is?"

"Hmm?"

"Our one-year anniversary. As being a… you know… couple." She raised her eyes again to meet his, grinning from ear to ear.

"You remembered! Most guys forget stuff like that!"

"Well I'm not like most guys."

"You go that right…"

"Hey!" he pouted.

"Just kidding! You're perfect!" she giggled, giving him a peck on the lips, "Are we going to go visit Sora today?"

"Yumi, she has to get used to us not being there for her…" he trailed off, seeing her give him the puppy dog look. He sighed and conceded, "Fine, I guess we can."

"Yay!" she squealed, hugging him.

"What, no kiss? Maybe I should have never agreed to this…" he huffed. She laughed and kissed him, pulling away before he could deepen it. "You suck," he joked, nestling into her hair.

"But you love me anyway!" she laughed.

"Um..."

"Ulrich!"

"Just kidding!" he grinned, ducking as she went to punch him playfully. The bell rang and he plopped a quick kiss on her forehead as they separated to go to class.

-bReAk bReAk bReAk-

"I can't believe she used to be able to sit in my lap!" Yumi exclaimed, holding her hand out for the now 4' 6" mountain lion to search for. Sora smelled her scent and carefully made her way over, her blind eyes wide with recognization**(a/n: is that even a word?)**.

Ulrich stroked his beloved cat's fur as it nuzzled into Yumi's slender hand, purring happily, "How's my baby."

"Hardly a baby anymore," Yumi said, mimicking her motherly tone. He softly knocked his head into hers as they sat close together on the forest floor.

"Your parents are going to wonder where you are," he mumbled, kissing her hairline.

"I know," she said, "But I'll let them think I'm off letting some creep like Richard get the better of me."

Ulrich froze, "Get the…"

"Just kidding!" she giggled, pecking him on the cheek.

His face fell into a soft smile and he kissed her, murmuring against her mouth, "Man, I love you so much."

She grasped his shirt by the collar and pulled him closer, answering in her own way.

After a few seconds, Sora nosed her way in, not wanting to be left out of the group hug.

Ulrich laughed as he found Sora's furry side in between his face and Yumi's. He peeked over the cat's back and caught Yumi's gaze.

Her eyes twinkled and she got on her knees, put her hands on Sora's back, and leaned over the mountain lion to kiss him yet again.

**WAH!! I CAN'T BELIEVE IT'S OVER! –sob- I'm really happy that you guys stayed with me through this entire thing. The ending was horrible… bah… I thought I had a really good way to end this (just like for LIHV) but alas, my brain failed me again. Big shocker there, huh? Hah. Anywho, i thought I'd let you know… my updates won't be as frequent… for ITG, that is. I may have a couple of oneshots here and there, but I have to focus on my studies… XD yeah… please review one more time! I'd really appreciate it! I hope you all liked the last chapter of Confusing Love With Lust! BYE!**

**-Mi ChIbO-**

**beep…**


	11. Goodbye To Everyone

Hey guys –

I'm sorry to say that I'll be quitting FanFiction. In a matter of days, all of my stories will be off of the site, just in case someone tries to steal them. If you really, _really _want to finish a story of mine (I think only Into The Goal is left…) or write a sequel to something then review and/or PM me. Otherwise, all of my stories will be gone by next Friday. I'm really sorry everyone, but I really need to focus on my school work right now. Just as well, my personal life can get really complicated. I appreciate everything you guys have done for me. I'm so glad I got to experience this! I love all you guys to death, but things have happened that have made me think twice about my life. I need to spend all the time I can with my loved ones and do my best because you never know, today just might be your last chance to say "I love you" to someone. In seconds, people can be taken away and I'm sorry to tell you, life doesn't come with a restart button. Well, I wish I could say more, but I just don't know what… I feel awful leaving all you guys like this. You were the best! I loved it while it was happening. I'll leave my account up, though it won't have any of my stories on it, so you guys can still keep in touch. It breaks my heart to have to do this, but I know that if I don't, I'd just be lying to myself that I'll actually get back to what I'm doing. It surprises me that I actually finished so many stories (yeah, I'm a procrastinator… so sue me! XD). And that they were so popular! I never would have expected so much so much enthusiasm from you guys! It made me feel good about what I was doing. I'm so glad that you guys enjoyed my stories as much as I enjoyed reading each and every review you guys posted. I can't seem to stop saying "THANK YOU" and "I LOVE YOU GUYS!" I know you're probably going to hate me after this (if you don't already) but I'm finished lying. I'm just not into Code Lyoko any more. I'm feeling awful about everything, but there's been a gap in my heart – like a building left unfinished that could topple at any second. It doesn't feel to great. Just writing this letter-ish thing of apology is making me start to feel better. Maybe someday I'll come back. If I don't, this is my final goodbye and – I know, I know, I've said this at least twenty times already – I LOVE YOU GUYS SOOOOOO MUCH! Keep writing! You all have so much talent! I hope I don't put anyone off of fanfiction and even if you skipped all of my rambling above, I hope you consider telling everyone you love them. I didn't mean to sound pessimistic above, but it's still true: Tell everyone you love them, because it might be your last chance to let them know. I speak from experience. A very close friend of mine had her mom pass away back in August (you know who you are… love you loads! Hugs and kisses sent your way each and every day[ahem… dearly, not queerly). It made me realize there is more to life than just living. I'm going to do everything I can to make my life the best it can be. I hope you guys continue writing. I'll pop in every now and then to see what you've written, so don't leave! And once again: I LOVE YOU GUYS TO PIECES. I couldn't have asked for any better response than what you gave me. If I ever see you (er… well… hear from you…) again, I hope our words will be positive! Hearts to everyone.

**-Mi ChIbo-**

(Mi Chibo)

beep…


	12. MY LAST AUTHOR'S NOTE

Yeah, yeah… I know what you're thinking: Mi ChIbO is a big fat liar.

Well, I guess you're right… heh.

Okay, this has to be short because I'm in the middle of a very important school assignment now, but here's the gist of it: Due to… popular vote… I have decided to leave my stories up on FanFiction.

Please, hold the applause – I don't deserve it. Hah!

One of my dear friends on FanFiction, Mylinda Antoinette, will be taking over one of my stories (Into the Goal or Royal Pain) or both!

I thank her dearly for supporting my decision to leave FF (well, not LEAVE, but to stop writing).

Well, I told you this was going to be short! I love you all (dearly, not queerly) and I hope you have a lovely school year! PEACE! And remember – if you have a REALLY good idea for a sequel or chapter or something, blah blah blah… just PM me your idea! I'd love to hear it!

Thanks guys.

-Mi ChIbO-


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